Chumbe Island, Zanzibar
1. Chumbe Island
Location: Zanzibar
What's Cool: Self-contained living in an isolated coral paradise
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Robinson Crusoe, eat your heart out. Chumbe Island, off the coast of the island nation of Zanzibar, is a lush coral gem featuring a pristine jungle, an old, unmanned 60-foot lighthouse (a great place to watch the sunset) and often not another soul on the island apart from yourself and a ranger.
A short boat ride from the Mbweni Ruins Hotel on the mainland brings guests to the island where they can overnight in one of the half-dozen open two-story beach bungalows. With their sculptured roofs, the bungalows have a Frank-Gehry-in-the-tropics look, but they're very comfortable and self-contained, thanks to an ingenious design that utilizes rainwater cisterns, solar panels and compost toilets.
Chumbe offers some of the best snorkeling on the west African coast, while the high and low tides create wonderful opportunities to explore the Island's ever-changing coral environment. Rangers are available to help visitors find the right snorkeling spot, hunt for coconut crabs (so strong that their claws can cut through metal) and unlock the mysteries of this African paradise.
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